Pilot Early Warning System of the University of Santo Tomas

During typhoon season, the University of the Santo Tomas (UST) and its outlying areas are the most susceptible to floods in Manila. In line with this, a model was developed in order to generate a more realistic flood simulation. Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) was utilized for the hydrologic modeling of surface run-off. A flood forecasting and early warning system was developed for UST which is located at España Boulevard, Sampaloc, Manila to aid the Thomasian community in times of rainfall events. This study aimed to determine the flood volume within and surrounding the university, to generate inundation reports for 5yr, 15yr, 25yr and 50yr return periods, and to plan a framework for the sensor and broadcasting device integrating the resulting critical amount of rainfall. The data processing was divided into two sequence: accumulate hydrologic data and plot study area input. Accumulation of hydrologic data includes gathering of rainfall data and drainage properties while plot of study area is the actual modelling of the study area in SWMM. Lead time and critical amount of rainfall needed were obtained after a successful simulation of the model. The resulting initial flood occurrence and flood volumes were applied in the proposal of a flood warning system for the University of Santo Tomas. After the simulation and data analysis, the lead time and critical amount of rainfall attained in this study using SWMM, presented advantageous outcomes to predict flooding in the UST. Moreover, the resulted values were suitable for integration on a web-based flood warning system.